Human Experiences
by iamsupergirl2
Summary: "I'm new at this; you're resurrecting the human in me, and everything feels stronger because it's fresh." Edward doesn't want to miss out on any human experiences for himself either, and what better way is there than to do or assist Bella with "human" chores/tasks? And there's no doubt in his mind that Bella would appreciate this more than being taken to Prom.
1. Making the bed

**POV:** Bella

* * *

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead."

I shot a half-hearted glare in his direction before burying my nose back in the pillow. It smelled like him. "Too early," I grumbled, even though I had no idea what the time was. "Sleep more."

I hadn't heard him move or felt the bed sink under his weight, but suddenly his lips were at my ear, brushing against the sensitive skin there. "You always say that, and yet I manage to convince you to get up every single day."

Lifting my head to blink blearily at the clock on the nightstand, I croaked, "Edward, it's five-thirty. On a _Saturday_. Are you out of your mind?"

"It's actually seven. Your clock is broken."

I sighed and dropped my head again. "When are you ordering a replacement?" I asked knowingly.

"An hour ago," he replied cheerfully. I rolled my eyes; he was impossible. "I messaged Alice while you were sleeping. She'll be bringing it with her later this afternoon. It's actually part CD player and radio."

I flipped over, struggling quite a bit with the heap of blankets tangled all over me. "I already have a CD player. You didn't need to do that."

"I know."

He didn't say more, and in the silence, I found myself beginning to doze off again.

"Bella…"

I groaned but didn't open my eyes. " _What_?"

He laughed softly. "Won't you get out of bed? You can't stay there forever."

I yawned and burrowed deeper into the blankets. "Try me."

He was silent again for a long moment. Curious, I opened my eyes to find him only inches away, kneeling on the bed next to me. His hands were resting on the mattress on either side of him. Gold eyes studied my face curiously.

"What are you thinking?" I found myself whispering.

He blinked once, then smiled his crooked smile. His head tilted to the side and he averted his eyes as if he were embarrassed. "This is the first calm morning we've had. No rushing for school, no doctor visits, no Charlie… He went fishing," he explained when he saw my confusion. "You seem so relaxed. It's very distracting."

"Right." I murmured, taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. Distracting indeed…

"Breakfast in bed?" he offered.

"No, thanks. I have to brush first anyway." And I wasn't kissing him until I did. "And I'm not that hungry. You really stuffed me up yesterday."

"It's the required amount," he said defensively, hopping back off the bed and extending his arms to pull me with him. "You need proper nourishment."

As it did every morning, his gaze focused on my face, looking for any sign of discomfort or pain when I stood.

"I'm fine, Edward," I assured him, though I couldn't help but sigh when he wrapped a supporting arm around my waist and pulled me protectively to his chest. "Carlisle wouldn't have removed the cast if he wasn't confident it healed."

"I know, but…" He glanced down at my legs, then my face, and opened his mouth.

 _Uh oh._

"I need a human moment," I said quickly before he suggested anything.

I'd only recently been able to convince him to stop carrying me everywhere. At least it was better inside the house than in public, but he was acting like I was dying. It was beyond embarrassing. At least the bruises were completely gone, so he had no argument.

He gave my upper arms a squeeze, then reluctantly let me go, settling in the rocking chair to wait.

I grimaced when I entered the bathroom and looked around. Due to my injury, I hadn't been in any physical condition to get around to cleaning it — or even the rest of the house.

My eyes widened at the even bigger mess I saw in the mirror.

How had Edward kept from laughing at _this_? My cheeks turned red as I studied my morning hair. It was crazy tangled every day, but he usually left to drive his car back here before picking me up for school, so he rarely saw me get out of bed.

I ran my comb through the tangles, wincing and hissing at particularly painful strokes. Briefly, I considered calling Alice to borrow one of her conditioner bottles, but the lengthy Bella-barbie makeover that was sure to follow wasn't worth it.

Edward was still sitting in the rocking chair when I emerged five minutes later. He grinned when I made a beeline for him and immediately lounged across his lap.

"You're being awfully lazy this morning," he observed, hugging me closer.

I nodded into his shoulder, mumbling, "Just realized that Spring cleaning has finally caught up with me. Bathroom, dusting the living room…" I looked around critically. "My room. Makes me just want to go back to bed."

"I can do it," he offered.

"Clean the house? Um, no."

"Why not?"

I flushed. "It's just weird."

"What's so weird about it?" he demanded. "I do it all the time."

I raised an eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, not _all_ the time. But a little dusting here and there…" He trailed off, then narrowed his eyes when he caught my expression.

My lips were pressed together, suppressing giggles. "A little dusting. That's it? I bet you don't even how to make a bed."

He glared at me, then sighed. "Okay, so vampires are kind of low maintenance, but how hard could it be?"

"Not hard. Just exhausting. And only when you're human," I scowled. "You know, if you would just change me—"

"Let's get started. Think of this as another human experience for me," he interrupted quickly, standing up and lifting me in his arms so quickly that I gasped. He carried me over to the bed, carefully setting me down next to it and muttering under his breath, " _don't even know how to make a bed_ … Just because I don't own one doesn't mean I don't know how to maintain—"

"Okay, okay, how about a deal?" I suggested.

He crossed his arms and waited, expressionless.

"You make the bed… under, um, fifteen seconds." He raised his eyebrows but didn't comment. "If you can't, I get the satisfaction of knowing there's at least one thing you're not good at."

He rolled his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. "And if I win?"

"What do you want?"

He considered this, then looked up at me. "I get to take you out. Not tonight, but soon. Maybe next weekend."

"Out?"

"On a date," he clarified.

"Um, don't you already do that?"

"Yes, but this time you have to promise to not complain about my spending too much or spoiling you or being unreasonable—"

"But you always _are_ unreasonable."

He ignored me. "Do we have a deal?

I gritted my teeth. "No deal. I can't sit through another makeover."

"No Alice torture, I promise," he said quickly. "I'll make sure she stays out of it. You can dress however you like."

I bit my lip as I studied his earnest face. He looked _so_ cute. But I still had to ask… "Dancing?"

"No."

I relaxed. "Okay."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He grinned broadly, leaving me breathless. Moving so quickly it looked like a blur, he stood and pulled me in for one of our longest kisses yet which surprised me considering his silly boundaries of our intimacy. Butterflies fluttered around in my belly as his fingers went to caressing my sides. He sighed against my lips as I was melting into him. My head was starting to spin and my knees trembled before he finally pulled away and steadied me carefully.

"Fifteen seconds, hmm?"

The duration of our kiss? Funny, I'd have thought it was longer. But I always lost sense of time and space when he was kissing me. I eyed him in confusion before I realized he was talking about our bet.

"Oh, that…" I said breathlessly. "Yes."

"Are you coherent enough to count?" He asked me, amused.

"Count what?" I asked dazedly, and he chuckled softly. "Oh, right. Um, yeah. Start. One…" I began shakily.

He went to work immediately, his movements all blurry again. He appeared to be folding the blankets while tucking the sheet in the bed corners, but I couldn't really tell because my head was still spinning. The pillows were straightened, bedspread was smoothed, blankets draped neatly over the bottom of the bed…

"How many seconds am I at?" he called.

"I lost track after two," I confessed as he bounded up to me. He looked so carefree; it was adorable.

"Good thing I set my stopwatch," he laughed, extending his wrist towards me.

 _14.56_

"I win," he announced triumphantly.

"I should've known," I sighed. I peered around him to judge. "Great job… and you even had time to accessorize." I stared at the single red rose he'd placed on my pillow and shook my head. "Where did you even _get_ that?"

"Outside," he replied casually, gesturing behind him to the window that I just realized was open.

"You amaze me."

"You seriously underestimate me," he teased as we headed downstairs. "I _was_ once human, you know."

"But did you make your bed as a human?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "I can't specifically remember. I'm sure I did. My mother was very strict about tidiness…" He trailed off, lost in the past for a moment, before he shook himself and smiled at me. "Maybe it's old habits coming back. Or maybe it's the natural feeling of being human whenever I'm with you. Or even otherwise. Emmett always teases me that I'm going soft."

"Sorry to drag you down."

He paused on the bottom step and stared at me. "I'm not feeling dragged down."

"Okay," I said, disconcerted by the sincerity in his eyes.

"Really," he insisted, backing me into the wall. "Bella, I love being with you, no matter what we do."

I felt the same, but it didn't the fact that there was an enormous barrier between us. He wasn't human, and I wasn't a vampire, so unless he changed me, there would never be an equal ground between us. We couldn't even do something as simple as sharing each other's meals. Well, we could, but it'd be awfully unpleasant for both of us.

It was only a matter of time before I'd finally convince him…


	2. Making breakfast

"Anyway, they had all this food and, dang,"—he turned to Edward—"man, you can cook."

\- Seth Clearwater, _Breaking Dawn_

* * *

 **POV:** Bella

* * *

"You know, I can't remember a time when I had to guess so much."

I gave him a smug smile. "It's a refreshing change, isn't it?"

He scowled at me. "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even care. It's driving me crazy."

"You know, other couples can't read each other's minds, and they get along just fine. Let's play again," I said eagerly.

He groaned and fell forward, mumbling into my shoulder, "I hate this game. This is the last round." Then he sat back up, looking determined. "Thirty."

"Lower."

"Fifteen."

"Higher."

"Twenty-three."

"Lower."

He tilted his head and studied me. A slow smile spread across his face. "Twenty."

"Right," I said surprised.

"My birthday?" he guessed, still smiling.

"Yes. Four tries." I was impressed. "That's a record. You took about a hundred guesses the first round."

" _Thirty-eight_ guesses. And that was because the boundaries you set were so high," he said defensively. "Negative one thousand to a thousand?"

I giggled. "Sorry."

He pulled me into his chest, sighing into my hair. We'd been sitting on the living room couch, facing each other, for about an hour now. I was very much enjoying this lazy morning with him. It wasn't summer vacation yet—about three more weeks of school left, and I still had tests, projects, and homework to do, but at the moment, I couldn't bring myself to care.

"You should eat something," he said after a while.

"Not hungry," I mumbled.

I _was_ starting to get a little peckish, but there was no way I was going to admit it. He was pushy enough already. And I was feeling so comfortable sitting with him like this.

He stared critically into my eyes. "That excuse is not going to work anymore. It's been over ten hours since your last meal."

"Well, I'm still full from last night…" I tried, tightening my arms around his neck.

"No deal, Bella."

He extracted himself easily from my weak grip and hopped off the couch.

 _Damn_ , I groaned.

As he headed for the kitchen behind me, he called over his shoulder, "I'm making you breakfast."

"You mean milk and cereal, right?" I called back. "I can get it myself, you know."

He grumbled something too low for me to hear, but I knew he was frustrated. I sighed and tucked myself in the corner of the couch to wait, flipping on the TV. Charlie had left it at the sports channel. After watching Edward and his family play baseball, human sports looked comparatively meek.

The minutes ticked by, and I began to frown, wondering what on earth could be taking Edward so long...

"Did you get lost in the fridge?" I teased, twisting myself around to see better.

"Ha-ha," he called back dryly. The sound of clinking cutlery and pans hitting the stove reached me. "Are you going to give me a time limit on this one too?"

"No. Even _I_ can get cereal under fifteen seconds." I slid off the couch and padded curiously into the kitchen. "But I do want to… _what are you doing_?"

He was standing at the stove, cradling a steel bowl in his arms and throwing an egg mixture onto the frying pan. Littering the kitchen counter were various items, some of which I didn't remember even buying. Powdered sugar, all kinds of fresh fruits, veggies, bread, measuring cups, syrups…

"I didn't know Charlie bought a waffle maker." I squinted at the machine. It looked new… wait…

"He didn't," Edward responded without looking up; he was now flipping two slices of bread into the toaster. Even that simple task looked so elegant.

I gaped at him. "You bought a waffle maker!"

"Technically Alice paid, but it was my idea to, yes."

I sighed and chewed on my lip. What would I tell Charlie? It was too early to argue with Edward about taking the machine back. Maybe I could convince Alice secretly to return it… But she was even more unreasonable than her brother. Why were the Cullens always so stubborn…?

"Whatever you're thinking, it's not going to work."

"Oh, be quiet," I protested and sat at the dining table to watch. He seemed comfortable enough without my help anyway. Speaking of… "So where'd you learn how to do all that?"

"You, mostly." He looked at me as if it were completely obvious. "You're the only cook I know personally. And a little from TV. The recipes are all in memory too. It's kind of fun."

"Fun?" I echoed. "A vampire finds cooking fun? Really?"

He threw me a sheepish smile over his shoulder. "Well, of course, _I_ don't find it appetizing at all, and the smells can get rather nasty… but I have your sweet aroma to balance it out, so it's all good."

I blushed, and he grinned, turning back to plug in the waffle maker.

"You know…" I began thoughtfully, studying his concentrated face as he poured the waffle mix on the hot iron. "If you're going to put in so much effort in buying all these fancy gadgets I don't need and cooking such a variety of things, don't you think you should at least _look_ the part too?"

"Oh no."

"Oh, yes." I smiled devilishly. "Time for a makeover."

He narrowed his eyes. "You're in the mood to torture me this morning, aren't you?"

"Come on, it's only fair. You torture me all the time. Or you get Alice to torture me." I said absently, rummaging through the drawers. "Aha!"

I turned to him, holding out the yellow polka dotted red apron with a white bow to the side.

"Help me," he muttered as I threw it over his neck.

"Arms up," I giggled, reaching around him to tie it around his waist.

He sighed in resignation. "I suppose this is a small price to pay."

"Price?" I pretended to be offended. "I thought you were enjoying this."

He took in the way I was pressed up against his chest, my arms around him as I fumbled with tying a knot, and suddenly pulled me in for a kiss. My arms loosened from his waist and I would've stumbled backward if it hadn't been for his hands supporting me. His cold lips pressed softly against mine, driving away all coherent thoughts, and I tried to push myself closer, but he chuckled against my mouth and pulled away.

His eyes were liquid fire as they smoldered down at me. He whispered, "Definitely enjoying this."

"Tease," I panted, gripping his shirt.

"Cautious," he corrected, his expression growing stern. "You know why we can't—"

"Yeah, I know. Still…"

" _Bella_ —"

"Alright, alright." I held up my hands before he could begin another lecture. I took a step back, focusing again to appreciate his new look, and bit my lip to refrain from laughing. "You look cute."

He ignored me, lifting the frying pan from the stove. "Omelet's done."

"The polka dots really bring out your eyes."

"Butter or jam?"

"And the red really brings out your hair."

He methodically spread butter and jam on each slice of toast, pointedly ignoring me.

"And the white bow—"

" _Enough_ ," he said loudly, whirling around with the plate and a glass of juice in his hands. His expression was beyond irritated.

I burst out laughing.

" _One_ more word from you about this damn apron and I'm ripping it into shreds and burning it."

The image of him standing over a fire pit, maybe in the Cullen's backyard, sent me into another round of laughter. He would totally do it.

He stalked over and set the first portion of my breakfast—a fluffy, vegetable omelet with toast—on the table, using more force than necessary. "Eat up."

"Want some?"

"No, thank you," he said stiffly, settling in the seat opposite of me. "I'm eggs-and-toast intolerant."

He was still annoyed. I had to smile; it was so endearing. "Sure you don't want to test taste your own creation?"

"I don't need to test. I know it's perfect."

"Somebody's awfully confident.".

"I'm good at everything, right?" He grinned.

"There's a first time for everything." I countered. "This might be your first failure, in which case there would be a bright side."

"What's that?"

"I'll get food poisoning, and then you'll have to change me." I was kidding. Sort of.

" _Bella, not again_." His smile vanished. "We are not having this argument."

"Okay, well, don't argue then." He opened his mouth to reply, but I interrupted him, wide-eyed and pointing at the plate, "This is really good, by the way."

"Is it?"

"Absolutely. Are you sure you're not a professional chef?"

He looked relieved. "Funny. I've made omelets when I was human, just never since. And as much as we practice looking human, we've never really felt the need to cook or anything. Except for Esme. She's into baking and cooking. For children at the hospital."

I smiled. "That's sweet of her. Maybe I'll do it too. Get some volunteer experience."

Leaning forward, he suggested, "We could do it together."

"You too?"

"Of course. I'd love to cook with you. You could teach me as we go along."

"Right," I said, a little sarcastically at the idea of my needing to teach him _anything_ , but also pleased by his sincere enthusiasm at the prospect of us working together. It beat doing boring homework.

The waffle maker _dinged_ , distracting both of us. He leaped up and was at the counter in an instant. With such grace and ease, as if he'd had much practice before, he stacked the fluffy golden-brown waffles elegantly, topping them with fresh fruit slices, whipped cream, toasted coconut flakes, powdered sugar, syrup, and various other garnishes.

With a flourish and a proud smile, he held it to me. It was a work of art.

"Edward—wow… It's beautiful, Edward," I told him honestly. "I can't wait to try it."

"Even though you lectured me several times about going overboard…?" He teased, but his face was glowing with self-satisfaction.

"Well, that was before you actually made it. It's too late to stop you now, and frankly, I can't let it go to waste." A thought occurred to me, and I chewed the inside of my cheek to stop the smile threatening to spread. "Can I borrow your phone for a second?"

He handed it to me instantly. "Why?"

For a few moments, I fumbled with his fancy gadget. When I finally unlocked his phone, I was distracted by the picture— _my_ picture—on his wallpaper. I squinted, trying to figure out when he'd taken it. My profile was tilted a little to the side, and I was smiling at something out of the frame. I recognized the Cullen's living room in the background, and I realized it was one of the many times I'd visited their house. It was pretty recent; I'd still had my cast on then—my broken leg was stretched out in front of me on the footrest Esme had kindly set up—and I'd been nestled comfortably in the corner of the couch. Edward had been sitting on my left, and I wondered how I hadn't noticed him taking the picture.

I lifted my head to meet Edward's eyes. He was watching me intently and he caught the confusion in my expression. Smiling, he explained quietly, "It was the first time I'd seen you so at ease with my family. Even after all the danger that I put you through, and the potential danger you're always in by being around us, you've never run away once."

His smile turned grim and I could guess his train of thought.

"I'm not running anywhere," I promised solemnly. "Maybe _you'll_ run."

"That's not a possibility. It's not like _you're_ putting _me_ in any danger. Anyway, it was so beautiful to see. I wanted to capture that moment of you."

I grinned back down at his phone, remembering the reason I'd needed it. I opened the camera application and held the phone over the waffles.

"I want to capture this moment too," I explained as I snapped a few photos from different angles of this exotic breakfast. "Esme would be proud. I only wish you could eat it with me."

I clicked a few more shots and texted the pictures to Alice. And when I finally dug in, it was pretty much the best breakfast I'd ever had.

* * *

A little while later, Edward was on his way home to drive his car back here since Charlie would be returning from his fishing trip very soon. I quickly headed up the stairs to check my email per Alice's brief request on the phone. There was a new message in my inbox when I opened it.

 **From:** Alice Cullen  
 **Subject:** Open immediately!

 _Thanks for the pictures! The waffles were cool (they look extremely unappetizing) but not as amazing as Edward in that apron. That was hysterical. I'm so proud of you for being able to sneak a picture of him like that. From_ his _phone, no less! A true Cullen, you are!_

 _I showed it to Emmett and he just about died laughing. I'm getting the picture developed as you read this, and Esme wants to frame it and hang it up in the kitchen, proud of her cheffy son. I'm not quite sure I agree. Why not the living room? Much more publicity._

 _Edward's on his way home now but just to grab the car, so it won't be too hard to block our thoughts. You'll be in for a treat the next time you come over… which is_ tonight _! Can't wait!_

 _Love you,  
Alice_


	3. Itsy bitsy spiders

**POV:** Bella

* * *

 **From:** Alice Cullen  
 **Subject:** Change of plans

 _Em can't stop laughing about the picture. Not that I really blame him, but I saw that our surprise for Edward would be ruined. Esme's much better at controlling her thoughts, so we'll just make ourselves scarce until Edward's gone._

 _Poll: Should we go for a bronze or golden picture frame? Em and Jazz voted golden. Esme says either, and Rose doesn't care much for this. Haven't heard from Carlisle yet. I was thinking bronze._

As I read, I created a new email, typing "Bronze" without hesitating. I went back to her message.

 _And I'm actually not coming over this afternoon with your 3-in-1 alarm clock replacement. You can take it back with you when you come over. By the way, Esme is sending over a lot of food for you and Charlie, and I know you're sick of fish fry, so you're staying for dinner._

I rolled my eyes with a grin. I quipped, _Whose dinner?_ Sometimes Edward was still a little sensitive to jokes about his diet and my technically being a "meal" and everything, but Alice accepted them with good humor. And her mention of the newest purchase on my behalf reminded me of the waffle maker Edward had said she'd paid for. I added a plea to my email, which I was sure would be overlooked, that she could stop buying me things for which I really had no use.

 _This is going to be a big hit. I've saved several copies of the picture so should Edward ever destroy this one, there'll be backup. Oh, and try to keep Edward occupied for the day, would you?_

 _Toodles,  
Alice_

 _P.S. Are you_ kidding _me with that shirt? It's so not a May color. Go for the light pink cardigan and tank!_

In the email, I acknowledged her thoroughness of this elaborate prank, completely ignoring the postscript. I loved her to death, but she was forever harassing me about seasonal fashion styles and colors. In Forks, everything was green, and it didn't matter what any weather forecast had to say. As far as I was concerned, anything but that alien planet color was the best kind of fashion.

Alice's request to keeping Edward occupied was gnawing at me. How did one occupy a vampire who had unlimited time on his hands? And what did she mean by occupied? How occupied should I keep him? What if I ended up smothering him? Obviously, she needed him away from the house and family for many hours, and there would be very little I could do physically to stop him from driving or even walking home. I was only human.

Human…

Suddenly, Edward's comment earlier this morning about having human experiences and low-maintenance vampires rang through my head.

The human experiences I _could_ give him were severely limited, but it wouldn't hurt to explore some things we could do together. And though I'd made fun earlier, I was actually looking forward to the idea of volunteering for the local food bank or the children at the hospital. A summer of the three of us—Esme, Edward, and I—cooking in the Cullen kitchen while Alice fussed over our clothes getting dirty…

I began to smile.

 _Don't worry about Edward. I'll keep him busy somehow. Looking forward to the picture,_ I finally wrote, before clicking 'send.' Edward was due back soon, and I could hear Charlie on the phone with Billy Black, scheduling another fishing round at the same time tomorrow morning. I suspected the weekly fishing trips he took were just his way of catching up with his friends at La Push, which was totally fine with me.

"Bella?" Charlie called. "Did you have breakfast yet?"

"Yeah," I replied on my way downstairs, thinking of Edward's 5-star gourmet meal and feeling a little guilty as Charlie settled with a bowl of cereal. My eyes frantically scanned the counter for that brand new waffle maker, but luckily it was nowhere in sight. "Can I make you anything?"

"Nah, I'm good. I've got to rush anyway."

"For work?"

"Just for a couple of hours. I have to be there at nine."

"Okay." I chewed on my lip. It would be easier to find something to do with Edward while Charlie was out.

"What are your plans for today?"

"I'm going to read for a little while. Do homework. Same old."

He nodded. "Sounds good."

I remembered Alice's email. "Erm… So Alice is working on some scrapbook project and she wants my opinion, so I'm going over later tonight." I paused. "I probably won't be home for dinner."

His spoon hovered in front of his mouth. Milk dripped on the table. "Sure, that's fine. Tell her I said hi."

I hid a smile as I handed him a dishrag. I knew he wouldn't put up a fight, not with 'Alice' being the magic word. Charlie adored Alice just as much as he disliked her brother. It was so unfair, and I wondered if revealing they were vampires would change his feelings one bit.

"Sure thing. You'll be okay for dinner?"

"Yeah, I'll head over to Billy's. There's a game anyway."

I nodded, turning towards the staircase before he could see the way my mouth twisted at Billy's name as I remembered him bribing Jacob to deliver the "we'll be watching" message at prom. I didn't know who was included in the plural, or whether they'd found anything worth watching, but my relationship with Edward was being scrutinized by pretty much everyone who knew us. It was beyond irritating.

As I was stewing over this, at first I didn't notice the unwelcome guest in my room. I was used to Edward climbing through my window, but this creature was eight-legged and shared no resemblance to a Greek God.

Shuddering, I bit back a gasp as it scurried past my leg and under my bed.

Reading would have to wait.

* * *

 **POV:** Edward

* * *

The heat still lingered on my mouth.

As I weaved in and out of the thick trees that kept me well hidden from passersby, I tried to occupy my thoughts with anything besides the imprint of Bella's lips on mine.

At this point, I wasn't sure if photographic memory was a blessing or a curse. It hadn't even been ten minutes since she'd kissed me a brief goodbye from her window, and I was already on the edge of turning around. Forget the car. If someone became suspicious about my lack of transportation… well, I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

But our relationship came with more complexities than necessary, and I had to do things the right way by keeping up our human façade. Besides, Charlie was on his way home now, and I wanted Bella to spend some time with him.

The house quickly came into view, and I impatiently scaled up its side straight to my room and into the closet.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Esme paused in her humming. _Edward?_

"Morning, Esme," I called, changing quickly. I heard the rustling of paper bags and the _click-click_ of plastic containers.

"Morning, dear," she replied.

"Everyone's out?"

"Yes, the usual. And I thought you were spending the day with Bella." _That's become_ your ' _usual' now, hasn't it?_ She added slyly.

"Suppose so." I shrugged in reply, chuckling. "And I'm actually going right back. Charlie's on his way home from his fishing trip."

She smiled. _Well, tell them both hello for me. And take this with you._

When I breezed down, she was waiting at the bottom of the staircase, a plastic bag dangling from her fingertips.

"More food?" I teased, sniffing its contents. It was beyond revolting. "Bella told me you're not allowed to send any more dinners for them. She still has leftovers from your stir fry last week."

 _I did make quite a lot of that_ , Esme admitted sheepishly. "It was fun, and at least it'll save her the trouble of cooking. That girl works too hard."

"Don't I know it," I muttered. "But I guess you did just free up her evening."

Esme's eyes lit up. "Well, bring her over later if she wants. I'd love to see her."

"I know she's been wanting to see you again too," I returned, kissing her cheek. "And it'll take her mind off school. How's six?"

"Perfect."

I headed for the garage, dropping the food bag into the passenger seat of the Volvo. The unpleasant odor of whatever Esme had created was quickly mingling with Bella's tempting fragrance—a smell that was now pretty much permanent in my car. And bedroom.

I blocked that image from my mind before my mind could places it shouldn't. It was becoming clearer and clearer each day that Bella was testing my self-control in many different ways. As easy as it was gradually getting to resist the allure of her blood, the opposite seemed to be true for the man in me.

She deserved so much better. And yet…

Sighing, I let my head fall back against the headrest and instead focused on making plans for the upcoming summer vacation—my first real opportunity to spend with Bella, besides our too-short, homework-centered weekends. Her leg would probably be completely healed by then too, so we would have three full months of purely unrestricted alone time.

Undoubtedly, she would balk at the idea of my spending too much on her, so I tried to come up with something she would enjoy enough to overlook its expenses. Dinners in Seattle were absolutely out of the question; she always became too self-conscious by her surroundings—and the fact that only she could really enjoy the meal—to relax. I knew she loved the sun, and while I often took her to our meadow, maybe a change of scenery would be nice. I made a note to research some private parks or nature trails with plenty of sun exposure, maybe from out of town.

Our future—and not just summer vacation—was not a perfect picture. Had I been human, we could explore together without the dangers and complications that I brought into our relationship. I knew what Bella would say about this. She'd been begging to be turned in a vampire ever since our discussion at Prom, and I had a feeling she would never let it go, but how could I take away her soul and live with myself?

I pulled up at Bella's shortly, and the reassuring beating of her human heart dragged me away from those dreary thoughts. Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway, and I could hear him in the kitchen, thinking about his uneventful trip this morning and planning another round tomorrow. Bella was upstairs in her bedroom. As I focused, I realized that her heartbeat was faster than usual. Her breathing seemed to be rather labored too as if she was struggling with something.

Concerned, I hurried out of the car and knocked on the front door.

 _Must be Edward_ , I heard from Charlie, and he wasn't surprised to see me when he came to the door.

"Good morning, Charlie," I greeted him politely, straining to listen to whatever was happening upstairs.

"Hello." He crossed his arms and stared at me. "A little early, aren't you?"

After the accident in Phoenix, Charlie's opinion of me had lowered. And rightly so—I was more of a danger to his daughter than he realized. He didn't hate me, but I knew the only reason he accepted me was his respect for Carlisle and admiration of Esme. But whatever his feelings towards me may be, they weren't keeping me away from her.

"Esme wanted to send some food, and I was hoping to see Bella. If she's awake."

His gaze went to the bag I held out. "That was nice of her," he said grudgingly. "What is it?"

I tried not to smile. "Not sure about all of it, but I know there's fish fry."

Bingo.

His face changed. "Well, come on in then. Bella's upstairs reading."

"Thank you," I stepped past him into the foyer.

As soon as he turned towards the kitchen, I flitted up the stairs, quiet as a ghost. I knocked on Bella's door, but when she didn't respond, I swung it open.

And froze.

She wasn't reading.

Silent and motionless as I was, it took Bella a little while to notice me in the doorway.

Normally when I caught her at an inopportune moment, her cheeks would flush, but today her pale face was already red from exertion. Her silken tresses, through which I'd run my fingers only an hour before, were pulled up in a sloppy ponytail, away from her face. And instead of squirming in embarrassment, she took one look at me and the determination in her expression was replaced by one of horror.

"Close the door," she almost shrieked.

"What?"

"Come inside," she said urgently, waving me forward with a rolled up newspaper in her hand, "and close the door."

I complied but remained several feet away from her, still trying to process the scene.

"What happened in here?" I demanded, taking in the books and paper strewn across the floor, the laundry hamper in the corner that had been knocked down with clothes spilling out, the CDs that were thrown haphazardly on her bed…

Her bedroom looked like a tornado had struck. I might've wondered if there'd been a break-in if Bella's scent wasn't the only one in the room. I wondered immediately why Alice hadn't called me, but apart from sweat lining her forehead and the pucker between her brows, Bella looked physically fine.

I relaxed. Barely.

"Just checking to make…" She trailed off, her gaze fastened on the corner floor just five feet from me.

I followed her gaze and saw nothing. "Make sure of what? What's going on?"

"There was a spider," she explained without looking away. "I caught it, but I'm checking to see if there are any more."

"A spider," I repeated flatly, stepping into her line of vision. She glanced at me irritably and tried to peer around me. I gestured to her room. "You did all this because of one little spider?"

"Not little, Edward," she snapped. "And it's easy for you to say; you're not afraid of anything." That wasn't particularly true. "But that freak had no business being in my room."

An obsessed, lovestruck, blood-sucking, soulless, mind-reading, stalking predator was standing an arm's length away from her, and some innocent _spider_ , probably no bigger than the pad of her finger, was the freak. And while spiders and vampires did share similarities—both were venomous, for example, spiders were the ones with fangs. Vampire-fangs were just a part of mythical folklore. I couldn't help smiling at the irony.

Bella didn't share the humor. "It's not funny, Edward. It just appeared from thin air; I can't see how it even got in. All the door and windows were closed, there are no cracks in the wall…" Her expression grew stern as she watched me struggle to keep the laughter at bay. "And if you're not going to help me look, then go wait with Charlie until I come downstairs."

"As it happens, I have some tracking expertise," I said lightly. "And you obviously can't search without leaving destruction in your path, and I can't knowingly put you harm's way. Even if it is from a spider. Or yourself."

She shot me a look. Chuckling, I kneeled next to her bed and peeked underneath. A quick scan told me that there were plenty of dust bunnies that needed vacuuming but no spiders.

"All clear," I announced, but she didn't seem too thrilled with my detective work.

"I already checked under there. Can't you, like, sniff them out?" She moved her hand impatiently, drawing my attention again to the newspaper roll clutched between her fist.

" _Sniff them out_?" I echoed, picturing Charlie with a leashed police dog. "They're not mountain lions. And what's with the newspaper? Did you kill the spider with it?"

"Of course not." She looked offended. "Spiders move really fast—" Another thing we had in common, it seemed. "—so I needed something long to keep it from crawling all over me. I only tossed it out the window."

Yes, of course.

The ceilings, walls, and whatever part of the floor that was visible were all empty of any eight-legged creature that had my love too petrified to move.

"Okay, so I think I understand why you cleared your desk, but what on earth possessed you to murder the bookshelf?"

She followed my gaze to the overturned bookshelf sprawled on the floor with its books still squished between, and shelves unhinged from the frame.

For the first time, Bella looked embarrassed. Her teeth sank into her lower lip until she finally admitted, "That part was an accident. I was walking backward and I bumped into it. As I was turning around, it was already halfway to the floor. I wasn't hurt," she added quickly, knowing I was going to ask.

Sighing, I shook my head. Bella's blush darkened. "Twenty minutes, Bella. I leave for _twenty_ minutes, and you turn your bedroom into a crime scene."

"So I freaked out a little, give me a break," she said defensively. I laughed at her expression. "Like you were never afraid of _anything_ as a human. The dark. Heights. Cockroaches."

"I don't know," I said thoughtfully, shooting her a smile. "If I was, I can't remember."

She scowled. "Keep searching."

"Yes, ma'am."

The mess Bella had created made it, in fact, easier to check. I knew it was more likely that the spider would be scurrying along the edges, on the walls, or in corners, so I pushed all of Bella's things towards the center of the room. Bella remained where she was, chewing on her mouth as she watched me circle the perimeter of her room.

It was very distracting, feeling her gaze on me while she bit into that damn lip, and I desperately wanted to kiss her, but I figured she'd be in a better mood after the spider fiasco, so I shook myself off and tried to put my tracking skills to use.

Minutes later, I called out, "There's nothing here, Bella."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." I glanced at the newspaper in her hands and couldn't help but tease, "Your mighty weapon must've frightened them all off."

"Har-har." She rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips curved up into that breathtaking smile of hers I loved. She dropped the newspaper on the floor and tried to find a way back to me, but the floor was littered in hundreds of her things, and she couldn't take a step without colliding with a book, shoe, CD, paper, or clothes.

"Stay where you are, love," I laughed and started to clear a path between us. The last she—and we all—needed was a trip—literally—to the ER.

I tossed her books and papers on the bed but held up a bundle of her clothes questioningly.

"Hamper," she sighed. "They're all dirty now, so there's no point putting them back in the closet. I'll do a load later."

From the looks of the growing pile, she'd be washing more than just one load.

"I think you need a bigger hamper." I righted the wooden basket, but the lid wouldn't shut, so I ended up leaning it against the wall to prevent it from tipping over again.

"It was the right size for when I first moved here," she said pointedly, walking over carefully with an armful of clothing and dumping it on top of the hamper. "It's a wonder that suddenly I have four times the amount of clothes I started with."

"Don't blame me." I held up my hands innocently. "It was Alice's idea."

"When _I'm_ not on the receiving end of them, her ideas are pretty great," she agreed with a grin.

"If you can imagine, she was even worse the first time she went shopping, and of course, I was the assigned babysitter. Jasper was still working on his control," I clarified in response to Bella's perplexed stare, before muttering, "Thank heavens for online shopping."

Bella laughed at my expression, reaching out to catch my arm as I turned to face her room. The look in her eyes made me pause.

"I never did thank you for helping me with your tracking expertise."

My throat felt tight. "No, you didn't." I reached around her to play with the end of her ponytail.

She pulled me down so that our lips barely brushed. Her fingers tangled in my hair, as mine were in hers, her warm breath across my mouth, her intoxicating scent, and growing with each second, the tantalizing feel of her gentle weight in my arms…

"Thank you," she whispered.

I held utterly still as she pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth—

Her bedroom door flew open, and Bella shrieked, stumbling backward and tripping over a pile of books. I caught her arm instantly, steadying her, while quickly assuming a criss-cross position on the floor. When Charlie looked in on us, he found Bella standing with her hand over her heart and me relaxed on the floor next to her.

His eyes zeroed in on my fingers wrapped around her left elbow. "Everything okay in here?"

Bella shot him a glare. "Other than you almost giving me a heart attack, we're fine."

"Sorry." He looked apologetic, but mostly he was just suspicious of what we were up to.

"I offered to help Bella clean up her room." I supplied casually although my mind was still reeling—and the corner of my mouth still burned—from Bella's barely-there kiss. I didn't dare to look up at her as I let go of her arm. "Things got… _crazy_ in here."

Bella playfully nudged her knee into my shoulder, no doubt hearing the double entendre in my words, and I grinned as I pulled all the scattered books within my reach into a neat stack. Charlie was distracted as he glanced around his daughter's bedroom.

"Crazy's an understatement," muttered Charlie, taking in the chaos. "Has your room always been like this?"

"Yes, Dad," she replied sarcastically, pointing to the messy bed. "I enjoy sleeping on hardcover books and giving myself paper cuts."

He rolled his eyes. "So what happened then?"

"Spider," we said together.

He shook his head, muttering, "Should've known… Well, I'm off to work." He scanned our faces, worried about Bella being home alone with me. I cringed, wondering if I would ever gain his trust. "You guys better not get into any trouble, you hear?"

"Yes, sir," I acknowledged.

"He's becoming paranoid." Bella rolled her eyes after he'd left.

"Can you blame him?" I sighed. "Come on now, let's get to work."


End file.
